Genre

Genre - the word genre derives from French and means 'type' or 'kind'. In a study of media texts it is used to divide texts into easily identifiable categories. It is a way of classifying media products according to the elements that they share.


The Advantages of genre from the following perspectives:

* Producer (company that funds the film) - A genre may be able to specify what budget the company provides as some films may be low budget such as the Blair witch project which is a Horror and a very low budget film whereas a all star cast hollywood action film would need an extremely high budget.


* Audience (Consumers of the film) - Different genres will appeal to different audiences. Some people will hate thriller and horror movies because it scares them that means they wont want to go see the films that advertise themselves as them however they may prefer comedy and only watch films that are funny. It is not solely split into genre when it comes to films as it may either be a Childrens film or an Adults film.


* Director (Creator of the film) - The director will use a genre to follow its conventions, therefore the director knows what needs to be included in the film whether it be Shot variations or the general content of the film for example if its a Thriller it needs to be scary but not gory and horrific because then it would be a Horror instead of a thriller


* Scriptwriter (Person who comes up with new ideas for films) - A specific genre would follow a set of characteristic (conventions) of that genre therefore a scriptwriter will know what would have to be included in the film to make it for example a thriller. It will have to thrill people so the scriptwriter would have to write something with suspense and tension and it would also be easier to create characters for example if the film was a rom/com the scriptwriter would know that it needs two main characters of a boy and a girl ect.


* Marketer (Person who has to sell the film) - The genre will identify a target audience therefore it will be easier for the marketer how and where to advertise and what also would have to be advertised to initially entice its target audience.

The Disadvantages of Genre :

Genre within film and music restricts the producers to access a worldwide consumer base as each genre would appeal to a certain audience therefore target audiences as a Horror film wouldnt appeal to everyone especially not children. Genre creates specific conventions and if allot of conventions are broken then a film may not appear to be a certain genre as it may consits of a range of genre conventions therefore creating a hybrid genre this could be when a film is Horrific yet funny and maybe also sci-fi.

Genre : Comedy

Classic Comedy - Anchorman

Sub genre Comedy - Rom / com e.g. Love actually

Hybrid Comedy - rom / zombie (spoof horror / com e.g. Shaun of the Dead (Mainly Comic)

Comedy, when films where first invented mainly consisted of Sketches or simply funnyness however nowadays comedy can breach alot of insulting aspects weather it be religion, people or world events. Comedy in film can be portrayed in a range of different ways and if it appeals to its target audience it can be very funny.